The St. Paul Messenger

Transcription

1 The St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church 742 Depot Street Manawa, WI ( ) website: friend us on facebook, st paul Lutheran school and church, manawa, wi Service Times: Sunday s 8:15 a.m. & 10:0 a.m. (2nd & 4th Sunday s communion) Monday s 6:0 p.m. (2nd & 4th communion) PASTOR S ARTICLE HOW TO HELP THE BEREAVED 2018 Inside this issue: Confirmation 2 Easter Worship 2 Shut-In Service Membership Class Bible Study Voter s Meeting Ladies Aid Legacy Meeting Alaska Missions LWML Scrip School News 4 Carnival 5 Birthdays 6 Anniversaries 6 Hospitalized 6 Calendar & Serving Schedule On January 26 th, Ramona Gehrke Tucker died. She had suffered a number of strokes in the later years of her life and her health and vitality progressively degenerated until her life ended. On March 7 th, Joel Beyer died. He suffered a heart attack that suddenly ended his life. For Ramona s family and friends, her death was expected. For Joel s family and friends, his death was unexpected. In neither case was death welcomed because death is the unnatural enemy of life that came into the world because of human sin. Happily, by Christ s authority as the risen and living Son of God, death will be defeated. But until Christ comes again, we are still under the shadow and cover of death. How do we comfort and encourage one another in the midst of grief? First, it is helpful to understand the word, bereaved. To reave meant to tear. A bereaved person has been torn; someone or something has been torn away from them. A bereaved paper or cloth is difficult to mend and even when it is mended, the place where it was torn is usually still in evidence. When living flesh is torn, it takes a while to heal. Such wounds that come from the tearing of flesh are each unique to themselves; such wounds can be similar to other wounds but no two wounds are the same. By understanding that death has torn a person, you are better equipped to be an agent of healing to close up the wound. And like a tear in flesh will leave a scar, you understand that the loss of a person will leave a mark. We do not try to erase that mark but honor where that mark came from; remember the tear that put it that mark there. Second, it is helpful to avoid clichés as much as possible. As stated above, no two wounds are the same and so clichéd statements about death and loss do not honor nor remember the uniqueness of this death and this loss. So, as much as possible, avoid clichés. You might want to say, At least he is in a better place, but that does not acknowledge that he was in a perfectly good and wonderful place when he was alive and now he has been torn away from me and I do not think that is better at all! If given a choice between a cliché or nothing, say nothing. Third, along the lines of the previous sentence: be comfortable in silence. Often, your presence and availability is all that is needed. Start with an open ended, How are you? And if the answer is fine then give a non-verbal that indicates you are listening and give further evidence that you are ready to listen more. And if the bereaved does not want to talk, then let him/her do so. This is only three ideas. There is much more. But start here as you love one another in the midst of the pain that come from being torn.

2 Page 2 EASTER WORSHIP Sunday, April 1 w/communion 6:00 a.m. Sunrise, 8:15 a.m. & 10:0 a.m. Easter Breakfast 7:00-8:15 a.m. CONFIRMATION CLASS Ethan Fradrich Rebecca Gehrke Jaden Jaeger Alex Meidl Zachary Schertz Tyias Simons Jessica Velie Andrea Wentworth Confirmation Examination Wednesday, April 18th 5:00 p.m. (gown sizing 4:0 p.m.) Confirmation practice & pictures Saturday, April 21st 9:00 a.m. Confirmation Sunday April 22nd 10:0 a.m. COMMUNION SHUT-IN SERVICE Thursday, April 19th at 2:00 p.m. This is a worshipful communion service in the sanctuary as well as fellowship with other members of St. Paul. We will be bringing the communion elements to the pews where you will be sitting (in every other row). After a brief communion worship service with Pastor Mazemke you will have an opportunity to enjoy a snack in the fellowship area. All are welcome to come. MEMBERSHIP CLASS Pastor Reichle will be holding an Adult Membership Class. The class will be held on Sundays, April 8th-May 20th 9:0 a.m.-10:15 a.m. in the Music Classroom, which is upstairs in the school. Those who complete the class will be received as members on May 27th at our 8:15 worship service. Please register with Pastor Nate Reichle (natereichle@gmail.com or ). WHY ARE WE SO SURE ABOUT THE BIBLE? It claims to be the Word of God. It claims that all of it is useful. How come we are so confident in its claims? Join Tom Helpap in the parlor at the back of the sanctuary on Sundays between services beginning on April 8th to learn why we are so sure that the words on the Bible's pages are words from God's mouth.

3 QUARTERLY VOTER S MEETING The Quarterly Meeting will be Sunday, April 15th between services. Page LADIES AID The St. Paul Ladies Aid met on Thursday, March 1st. President Yvonne Guenther started our meeting with devotions. Roll call of 8 members were present. The secretary & treasurer s report was given and was approved. Yvonne asked for volunteers to help play Bingo at the Nursing Home in March. A motion that the Ladies Aid should buy tickets from the Men s Club Fish Fry for Pastor Reichle & family, also Pastor Mazemke & Connie, motion carried. Henrietta Baumer sent the Ladies Aid a letter asking for a leave of absence for awhile. Her encouraging words to us was we ve got to keep doing this as long as we can. She will truly be missed by all of us. We pray God will help her with the pain and bring her back to our Ladies Aid. There was more discussion on recruiting more ladies to join our Ladies Aid. Yvonne was hostess for the month of March, providing us with cake and coffee. ARE THERE PEOPLE AND CAUSES YOU CARE ABOUT? There are ways that you can enrich their futures with your wealth after your life has ended. You may be surprised how far your assets can go. Come to a presentation on Wednesday, April 11th at 5:15 pm in the Fellowship Room to learn about leaving your legacy. RSVP to natereichle@gmail.com or Brought to you by Thrivent. ALASKA MISSIONS OPPORTUNITY Construction projects and more are being done in and around Nome from June and June 27- July. Dave Sarna is going. Want to know more about going yourself? An information meeting will be held after worship on Sunday, April 8th in the Fellowship Room. LWML Our March 20th LWML meeting opened with the Hymn Joy To The World. Yvonne gave the devotion I m Not Comfortable. We all did the Bible Study Listen To The Sound together. We received 2 thank you cards, one from Rev. Dr. Daniel and Dr. Joan Jastram and the other from the family of Ramona Tucker. We discussed the upcoming Spring Rally to be held April 7th at Zion Lutheran Church in Freedom. The Christian topic will be Names of God. Our Service projects for March were: Pray for students at Peace Campus, Pray for our church, school, students and teachers, attend Easter service, and Pray for the sick and shut ins. Our next meeting will be April 17th. ST. PAUL SCRIP Scrip fundraising is a no-selling program that enables families to raise money for their non-profit organization. Scrip is just another way to pay for everyday purchases using gift cards in place of cash, checks, and credit cards. You purchase gift cards from your organization at face value, and your coordinator orders those cards from Great Lakes Scrip Center at a reduced price. The difference is an instant rebate for your organization. It s really that simple! Great Lakes Scrip Center orders over 00 of the country s biggest brands, including grocery, department stores, gas stations, restaurants, hotels, home improvement, and more. Scrip cards are sold on Sundays between services or in the church office Monday-Friday 7:0 a.m.-:00 p.m. Orders will be placed twice a month.

4 Page 4 SCHOOL NEWS Lutheran Schools Week Review A week is always set-up by the LCMS as National Lutheran Schools Week. This year the students, parents, and staff celebrated our Lutheran School in many ways. A few highlights of our week were bowling at Keglers, the Family Spaghetti Dinner, the PTO sponsored Science is Fun Show, and the banner displays. Thanks to everyone who participate and celebrated our Lutheran School. We had a wonderful week! Book Fair Thank you to everyone who made our annual Scholastic Book Fair a huge success. Our total sale for the book fair was over $2,250. Thank you also to all of the volunteers that generously donated their time to set up, take down and operate the book fair throughout the week. Because of the wonderful sale that we had, our school was able to purchase $900 of classroom supplies and new library books.

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6 APRIL BIRTHDAYS Zoey Bonikowske Jorja Rose Brennan Carl Creech Tom Smith Tyler Hass Collin Hintz Faye Buch Ehren Fritz Vilas Spiegelberg Andrew Habeck Mary Mikkelson Brian Adesso Dale Ferg Sheri Bailey Brenda Kortesmaki Jeffrey Wurth Brian Lettau Sara Buchholz Kasandra Brennan Alex Buschke Jacob Kaczorowski Caleb Schuelke Carmen Wesener Sheila Zielke Yvonne Guenther Ronald Rieckmann Serenity Steingraber Sherry Hodel Jason Bailey Emmett Stroik Eloyious Bonikowske Judy Raffin Micheal Nemmetz Wesley Bonikowske Karen Cady Brockton Coyle Jackie Seeger Ethan Steingraber Maggie Sturm Marihya Lunde Makenna Jaeger Joan Bailey Kelly Beyer Lucas Hanna Tricia Sturm Page 6 Michael Meidl Todd Flees Gene Gorges Breana Haines Daniel Pynenberg Arthur Schuelke Earl Breier Joseph Cummings Jami Glocke Larry Jasman Carol Schuelke Ben Stern Taylor Buschke Tate Drummond Carol Koehler Alexa Korotka Andrew Schimke Danielle Attoe Cary Fuhs Michele Mazemke Josie Nichols Nica Adesso Jordan Spiegelberg APRIL ANNIVERSARIES Brian & Lori Elmhorst Jennifer & Ryan Harris Roger & Betty Bonikowske Mark & Debra Hass Ronald & Shirley Fuhs Franklin & Dayla Jaeger William & Rosemary Brennan Gene & Lori Gorges Linda & Melvin Much Jim & Gloria Zemple Brad & Jaci Bartel Larry & Susan Jasman Greg & LuAnn Kamke David & Sally Thiel HOSPITALIZATION REMINDER Don t forget to let pastor or the church office know when you or a family member will be hospitalized or will enter a nursing home, or will for a while be a shut-in desiring communion visits. Because of privacy rules, some hospitals no longer call when a person is hospitalized. Other hospitals will only give pastor names if your name is listed under St. Paul Manawa.